The present disclosure relates generally to determining relative spatial information between vehicles and, in particular, to the use of wireless communication information and characteristics to determine a relative position between vehicles.
Many Active Safety (AS) and Driver Assistance (DA) systems require relative position with respect to neighboring vehicles in order to protect or assist the occupants of the equipped vehicle. For example, an adaptive cruise control system utilizes a range measurement from the equipped, or host, vehicle to the lead vehicle to assist the driver of the host vehicle in maintaining a distance between the vehicles. In the case of adaptive cruise control, the host vehicle is equipped with a radar, lidar, or vision sensor to detect vehicles ahead. Other systems may utilize sensors mounted on the sides of the vehicle or in the roadway to obtain a relative position measurement between vehicles. Another method of determining relative position between vehicles involves the exchange of each vehicle's location as determined by a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver. This method may be utilized when both vehicles are equipped with a GNSS device. Examples of GNSS devices include a Global Positioning System (GPS) and a Galileo receiver.